Sacramento A’s Carlos Cortes circles the bases after hitting in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego on Sun May 24, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Daniel Dullum:
#1 No doubt about it Daniel good pitching defeats good hitting every time as the Sacramento A’s held the San Diego Padres to just two runs for the win?
#2 A’s sluggers Carlos Cortes and Nick Kurtz helped spark the Athletics’ 5–2 victory with home runs at Petco Park how important are they to the A’s line up?
#3 What was notable about Nick Kurtz’s performance and on-base streak during the Athletics vs. Padres game?
#4 Starting pitchers for Monday night as the second place Seattle Mariners come calling in Sacramento. Starter for Seattle RHP Luis Castillo (1-5 ERA 6.41) for Sacramento RHP Aaron Civale (5-1 ERA 3.31) first pitch at Sutter Health Park 6:40pm PDT.
#5 How did fans and commentators react to the Athletics’ offensive struggles earlier in the series before their Game 3 win over San Diego?
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Sacramento A’s Carlos Cortes (2) gives thanks to the Almighty after hitting a top fo the first inning home run against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego on Sun May 24, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Mauricio Segura
The boys from Sactown had spent the first two games of the series staring at chances that slipped away. This time, they did not wait around for permission. Carlos Cortes opened the game by lifting a home run to right center, giving the Green and Gold the surge they had been lacking as of late.
It was one swing, one run, and one early reminder that Cortes has been one of the hottest bats in the lineup, hitting .381 over his previous 23 games and carrying the best batting average in the majors among players with at least 100 plate appearances.The Cortes led A’s got the three run win 5-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.
The first inning also gave the Athletics something just as valuable as the lead: a calm defensive start. Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to begin the bottom half, but Miguel Andujar rolled into a smooth 6-4-3 double play started by Alika Williams. Gavin Sheets then took a called third strike, and the A’s were back in the dugout with momentum still in their hands.
They added on in the second with the lower part of the order doing the damage. Zack Gelof drew a walk, and Henry Bolte ripped a double to left to bring him home. Bolte has brought speed, energy, and a little electricity to the lineup since his call-up, and he kept showing why the A’s were willing to give the 22-year-old center fielder meaningful starts so quickly. Williams followed with a single to left that scored Bolte, stretching the lead to 3-0 before the Padres could fully settle in.
Luis Medina worked through early traffic and was helped by his defense before Jacob Lopez took over in the second. Lopez had never faced the Padres before, and his outing became a test of patience. He did not dominate, but he didn’t allow the game to unravel either.
The Padres put runners on, but the A’s kept finding ways to cut off rallies, including a huge relay in the fifth when Tatis doubled to left and Ty France tried to score from first. Tyler Soderstrom fired to Williams, Williams relayed home, and Jonah Heim finished the play at the plate. It was a sequence of baseball reel highlight finesse. “How about that”, I could almost hear Mel Allen say from his heavenly pressbox stool.
The A’s pushed the lead to 4-0 in the fourth without a hit doing the final damage. Heim doubled, Jeff McNeil and Bolte drew walks, and after Michael King’s wild pitch, Heim scored from third. The inning could have been bigger, especially with the bases loaded, but even one run mattered in a series where every missed chance had felt expensive.
San Diego finally broke through in the sixth when Andujar doubled, moved to third, and scored on Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly. Ty France then tightened the game in the seventh with a solo homer to right off Justin Sterner, trimming the lead to 4-2. Suddenly, the finale had the familiar feel of a game ready to test the A’s bullpen again.
The ninth inning gave the Athletics breathing room, and it started with Cortes again. He singled to left, Lawrence Butler pinch-ran, and Nick Kurtz dropped a bunt single toward third. Kurtz had already extended his remarkable on-base streak to 47 games, moving past Rickey Henderson and into third place alone in Athletics history. That is not a footnote anymore. That is franchise royalty territory. Tyler Soderstrom followed with a ground-ball single to right, scoring Butler and giving the A’s a 5-2 lead.
The bottom of the ninth still had some drama. Hogan Harris issued two walks, including one after Jackson Merrill’s challenged plate appearance was overturned. With two on and one out, Scott Barlow was asked to settle the whole thing down. He did exactly that, striking out Nick Castellanos before getting Tatis to fly out to right, where Butler handled the final out.
After dropping the first two games, the Athletics needed more than a decent effort. They needed a response. They got one from Cortes, Bolte, Williams, Soderstrom, Kurtz, and a bullpen that held firm when the Padres tried to make the game uncomfortable. It was tough, timely, and exactly the win a first-place team needs before heading into a crucial series tomorrow in Sacramento.
Speaking of that series, Memorial Day Monday brings a big one to Sacramento, as the A’s open a three-game set against their West Coast rivals and the team currently chasing them in second place, the Seattle Mariners. Aaron Civale gets the opening-night ball for the A’s, bringing a 5-1 record, 3.31 ERA, and 37 strikeouts into the matchup. Seattle will counter with Luis Castillo, who enters at 1-5 with a 6.41 ERA and 47 strikeouts. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Pacific.
Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
San Diego Padres starter Luis Giolito was dealing against the Sacramento A’s at Petco Park in San Diego on Sat May 23, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento Athletics had enough baserunners to have made Saturday night a clear win, but the absolute lack of finishing touches failed to get any of them across the plate. A 2-0 loss to the Padres became a lesson in missed chances, survival pitching, and how a game with only two runs can still feel like it had a dozen turning points hiding in the San Diego the dirt.
Sacramento opened with immediate pressure against Lucas Giolito. Carlos Cortes started the game with a hard line-drive single to right, and Nick Kurtz followed with a base hit to move Cortes to third. Two powerful statements right off the bat (pun intended), especially with the heart of the order due. But Shea Langeliers then lifted a ball to right, Brent Rooker struck out, and Tyler Soderstrom’s easy fly was shut down as the inning slipped away without a run. The A’s had Giolito wobbling, but they never made him pay.
J.T. Ginn, making his first start since taking a no-hit bid into the ninth inning against the Angels, had to work through speeding traffic right away. Fernando Tatis Jr. drew a walk to begin the Padres’ first, and Manny Machado later reached as well, but Ginn struck out Gavin Sheets and Nick Castellanos to keep San Diego off the board. Considering Ginn had been riding one of the more dramatic recent starts by an A’s pitcher, his early command issues made this outing feel like a very different test. This one was not about chasing history. It was about escaping a pileup.
The escape act finally cracked in the second. Jackson Merrill reached, stole second, and the Padres loaded the bases after Freddy Fermin and Sung-Mun Song reached. Tatis was hit by a pitch, forcing in Merrill for the game’s first run. Ginn still avoided major damage when Miguel Andujar grounded into a force at the plate and Sheets flew out, but San Diego had taken the lead without needing a big swing.
The Padres added their second run in the third after Castellanos reached and Merrill doubled to right. Ty France grounded out to short, scoring Castellanos, and that was enough breathing room for San Diego’s staff. José Suarez replaced Ginn in the inning and limited the damage, while the A’s bullpen later gave the lineup a real chance. Joel Kuhnel delivered two perfect innings with three strikeouts, and Scott Barlow worked around a France walk in the eighth to keep it at 2-0.
The issue was the offense kept stepping into traps. In the third, Cortes drew a walk before Kurtz hit into an unassisted double play. In the fourth, the A’s had their best chance after Rooker and Soderstrom reached, Giolito uncorked a wild pitch, and Henry Bolte reached to load the bases. Jeff McNeil then hit into a double play, ending the threat and turning a possible turning point into another stranded opportunity.
Kurtz still gave the A’s one of their better storylines by reaching again with his second hit of the game, extending a streak that had already placed him among the longest in Athletics history. Big Amish’s ability to keep reaching base has become less of a hot streak and more of a nightly expectation, which is absurd in the best baseball way. Langeliers also nearly sparked something in the eighth with a double to left, but Jason Adam struck out Rooker and Soderstrom to end that threat.
By the ninth, Mason Miller finished it with force. Zack Gelof and Bolte struck out before McNeil grounded out, leaving the A’s with five hits, several chances, and no runs. The Padres did not win the game with any heroics. They simply cashed in once with a hit batter, once with a groundout, and let their pitching do the rest.
For the Athletics, the loss was frustrating because it was so reachable. Their pitching staff allowed only two runs, the bullpen settled the game beautifully, and the lineup had the right names at the plate in the right spots. But baseball being baseball, unpredictable, sometimes the whole night is not decided by who creates the most noise. Sometimes it is decided by who does the smallest thing at the exact right moment.
Game 3 starters for Sunday’s series closer will be Luis Medina (1-1 / 2.41 ERA / 18 k) for the A’s, and Michael King (4-2 / 2.31 ERA / 59 K) for the Padres at 4:10pm
Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee (51) is on the 10 day IL out with a back injury as of Fri May 22, 2026 (AP News photo)
San Francisco Giants podcast Stephen Ruderman:
#1 The Giants have now lost four straight games and are 2-7 in their last nine games. The loss on Friday night to the Chicago White Sox was not much of encouragement allowing nine runs in the top of the fourth inning at Oracle Park.
#2 Talk about pitcher Trevor McDonald he had a great break in with the Giants when he was called up and looked in command on Friday night until that fourth inning when the White Sox saw the baseball as big as beach balls.
#3 Also in the fourth inning McDonald and reliever Ryan Boruki hit outfielder Sam Antonacci it was the first time Giants pitchers hit the same batter whether it was the same pitcher or different pitchers.
#4 The Giants third baseman Matt Chapman has four extra base hits in his last six games. Chapman is hitting .304 with a .863 over the last six games.
#5 Talk about today’s starting pitchers for the White Sox RHP Erick Fedde (0-4 ERA 4.30) for the Giants RHP Andrian Houser (2-4 ERA 5.25) first pitch 1:05pm PDT
Former Oakland A and current San Diego Padre Ramon Laureano watches his home run in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Sacramento A’s at Petco Park in San Diego on Fri May 22, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Mauricio Segura:
#1 Mauricio, Talk about A’s pitchers Jeffrey Springs and Jack Perkins who both got touched up by the San Diego Padres early in the game.
#2 The Padres got home run help from Ramon Laureano, Manny Machado, and Nick Castellanos the long ball put the A’s out of business early.
#3 Which Athletics hitters were expected to be key offensive contributors entering the series against San Diego?
#4 In spite of the loss the A’s still maintain a 1.5 game lead on the second place Seattle Mariners in the AL West
#5 How important will this Memorial Day weekend series for the Athletics’ be in the standings in the AL West race?
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
San Diego Padres base runner Fernando Tatis (left) is tagged out by Sacramento A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) in the bottom of the fifth inning at Petco Park in San Diego on Fri May 22, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s game wrap:
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento A’s just couldn’t hold the lead and later faltered to the San Diego Padres 7-3 at Petco Park in San Diego on Friday night. In the first inning was one that usually gives the dugout a false sense of ease. Carlos Cortes started it with a single to center, and Nick Kurtz followed by driving a double to center that brought Cortes home and extended his already impressive run of reaching base.
Kurtz entered this matchup carrying a 44-game on-base streak, the fourth longest in Athletics history, and he wasted no time adding another note to that growing file. Shea Langeliers moved him to third with a grounder, and Brent Rooker’s groundout scored him for a quick 2-0 lead.
The Padres answered with less traffic but more force. Fernando Tatis Jr. drew a free pass in the bottom half, and after Jeffrey Springs retired Miguel Andujar and Gavin Sheets, Manny Machado turned the game with one swing, sending a two-run homer to left center. Just like that, the Athletics’ early cushion was gone, and the game settled into a tug-of-war between Springs trying to keep the Padres quiet and the A’s trying to rebuild pressure against Walker Buehler.
The Green and Gold had chances, but the small details kept getting expensive. Henry Bolte drew a free pass and Jeff McNeil singled in the second, only for Darell Hernaiz and Cortes to leave both stranded. Kurtz reached again in the third, but the middle of the order could not cash him in. In the fourth, Zack Gelof opened with a double to left, and Bolte followed with a single to center that scored Gelof, giving the A’s a 3-2 lead. Bolte’s speed created the run, but his attempt to take second was cut down by Rodolfo Durán and Xander Bogaerts, trimming a possible larger inning into something much smaller.
Springs did his best to make that lead hold. He got a double play in the third, worked a steady fourth, and handled the sixth with three groundouts. That mattered because Springs had been trying to shake a rough stretch that included four straight losses entering the game, and for much of the night he looked ready to bend the trend back in the right direction.
The problem was that San Diego did not need many openings. Nick Castellanos tied the game in the fifth with a homer to left, and Ramón Laureano gave the Padres the lead in the seventh with another solo shot. Springs allowed only three hits, but all three left the yard, a cruel little baseball math problem with no friendly answer.
The sixth inning may haunt the Athletics more than any other. Bolte and McNeil singled with two outs, Hernaiz loaded the bases with a free pass, and the Padres had to bring in Adrian Morejon to face pinch-hitter Colby Thomas. With the game still tied and one swing able to change everything, Thomas struck out, leaving a bitter taste that continued to squirm on the palate throughout the rest of the game.
San Diego finally broke it open in the eighth. Durán, Tatis, Andujar, and Sheets opened the inning with four straight singles off Jack Perkins, with Sheets bringing home two runs. Machado struck out, but Bogaerts added a sacrifice fly to score Andujar, pushing the Padres ahead 7-3. José Suarez stopped the inning from stretching further by getting Sung-Mun Song to pop out, but the damage had already turned a tense game into a virtual unreachable summit.
The Athletics went quietly in the ninth against Jeremiah Estrada, with McNeil striking out, Lawrence Butler grounding out as a pinch-hitter, and Thomas flying out to center. The final score told one story, but the innings told a fuller one: the A’s started fast, Springs competed, Kurtz kept reaching, Bolte supplied a run, and San Diego’s power plus one late rally made the difference.
For a team that had just won back-to-back extra-inning games and remained in first place in the American League West, this was not a collapse so much as a reminder. In the majors, being close for seven innings only matters if the eighth does not bite you.
Game two Saturday will feature J.T. Ginn (2-2, 2.98 ERA, 44 K) back on the mound after his devastating near no-hitter loss in Anaheim a few nights ago. He’ll face Lucas Giolito (1-0, 5.40 ERA, 3 K), who will be making just his second appearance for San Diego. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Los Angeles Angels Josh Lowe tries to break up a double play that sends the Sacramento A’s second baseman Jeff McNeil to step away to complete a double play at Angels Stadium in Anaheim on Fri May 22, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento Athletics came away with a 10 inning 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels to take three out of four from the Angels Thursday night. The A’s spent five innings trying to solve José Soriano while the Angels held a 2-0 lead built on one swing from Nolan Schanuel.
Mike Trout singled in the first, and Schanuel followed by sending a fly ball over the wall in right, giving Los Angeles an early advantage before the Green and Gold had even put a runner in scoring position.
For a while, that looked like it might be enough. The A’s struck out three times in the first, went down in order in the second and third, and had Carlos Cortes thrown out trying to stretch a fourth-inning single. It was the kind of start that makes a dugout feel like it is chewing on gravel.
Luis Severino, however, refused to let the game drift away. After Schanuel’s homer, the right-hander settled into one of his best rhythms of the season. He struck out Jose Siri and Sebastián Rivero in the second, then wiped out Adam Frazier, Zach Neto, and Trout in the third.
When Josh Lowe singled to begin the fifth, Severino got Siri to ground into a Zack Gelof-to-Jeff McNeil-to-Nick Kurtz double play, then struck out Rivero to end the inning. By the time his night was done, Severino had given the Athletics seven innings of two-run baseball with ten strikeouts and no free passes, a terrific answer after entering with three straight losses and a season-long issue with bases on balls.
The comeback began quietly, which fit the game just fine. Shea Langeliers opened the sixth-inning scoring chance with a double to left. Kurtz, who already had extended his reaching-base streak with a fourth-inning free pass, then lined a ground-ball single to center to score Langeliers and cut the deficit to 2-1. That streak, already tied for fourth longest in Athletics history entering the game, moved another step forward and continued a run that has placed Kurtz among the most dangerous on-base bats in the majors.
The seventh inning turned the game from survival mode into a real fight. Tyler Soderstrom singled, and Gelof replaced him at first on a force out before stealing second. McNeil moved Gelof to third with a groundout, and Darell Hernaiz delivered the tying hit, a line-drive single to left that scored Gelof. Hernaiz then stole second, showing the kind of pressure the A’s have needed during a stretch where tight games have become part of their regular diet.
The Athletics had chances to take control earlier than they did. In the eighth, Langeliers reached, Kurtz and Brent Rooker put two runners aboard, and a wild pitch moved both into scoring position before Soderstrom was intentionally issued first base. Gelof struck out, leaving the bases loaded. In the ninth, McNeil reached on Vaughn Grissom’s throwing error, Henry Bolte stole second as a pinch-runner, and Cortes reached, but Langeliers grounded out to keep the score tied.
The tenth inning finally tilted the game. Langeliers began at second, Kurtz was intentionally put aboard, and Rooker was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Soderstrom’s grounder forced Langeliers out at home, giving the Angels a brief breath of relief. Then came the night’s defining review. Gelof hit a grounder to short, and after the Athletics challenged the call, the ruling was overturned. Kurtz scored, the A’s had a 3-2 lead, and Gelof had turned a frustrating offensive night into the most important plate appearance of the game.
The Angels still had one more threat. Vaughn Grissom began the bottom of the tenth at second, and Jo Adell singled to center, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. Mark Leiter Jr. had no room for a mistake, but he found his escape route the hard way. He struck out Lowe, then got Jorge Soler to ground into a game-ending double play started by Gelof at third and finished through Hernaiz and Kurtz. It was a perfect ending for an A’s team that leaned on Severino’s grit, Kurtz’s steady bat, Hernaiz’s timely swing, Gelof’s legs and glove, and a bullpen that held the final three innings together.
The result was a 3-2 extra-inning win for the Athletics, their third victory of this four-game series against the Angels and another example of why this club has stayed on top of the AL West. They did not overpower Los Angeles. They outlasted them, one grind-it-out at-bat, one stolen base, one review, and one huge double play at a time. The final out came just before the 9:35pm start time for Disneyland’s fireworks down the street, Hakuna Matata!
The A’s will board the team bus Thursday night and head a couple of hours south to San Diego where they will play the Padres Friday for a three-game set. Jefferey Springs ( 3-4 / 3.93 ERA / 47 K) will take the mound for Sacramento facing off against Walker Buehler (3-2 / 5.01 ERA / 37 K) at 6:40pm.
Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.
Jeff McNeil (wearing bling) is congratulated by the Sacramento A’s dugout after hitting a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium Wed May 20, 2026 (AP News photo)
Sacramento A’s podcast Jeremiah Salmonson:
#1 Which player delivered the go-ahead hit for the Athletics in extra innings against the Angels?
#2 How did Los Angeles Angels respond after falling behind 3–0 early in the game?
#3 What impact did Jeff McNeil’s ninth-inning home run have on the outcome of the game?
#4 Which starting pitcher had the stronger outing: Aaron Civale for the Athletics or Jack Kochanowicz for the Angels?
#5 How did the Athletics bullpen help secure the 6–5 extra-innings victory over the Angels?
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Sacramento A’s outfielder Tyler Soderstrom chases down a line drive hit by the Los Angeles Angels Vaugn Grissom in the bottom of the first inning at Angels Stadium in Anaheim on Wed May 20, 2026 (photo by Golden Bay Times)
By Maurcio Segura
The Sacramento Athletics did not ease into this one. They grabbed an early lead, gave it back, clawed through the middle innings, and finally stole the night with the kind of road win that keeps a first-place team focused and the rest of the AL West glued to the scoreboard. By the time Hogan Harris got Jorge Soler to ground out with the bases loaded in the 10th, the Green and Gold had escaped with a 6-5 win that had a little bit of everything: early offense, three Los Angeles Angels homers, replay drama, late nerves, and Jeff McNeil turning a one-run deficit into a fresh fight with one swing.
The A’s jumped ahead immediately after Shea Langeliers was hit by a pitch, Nick Kurtz drew a walk, and Brent Rooker loaded the bases with a ground-ball single that glanced off Jack Kochanowicz. Tyler Soderstrom followed with a two-run single to center, scoring Langeliers and Kurtz for a 2-0 lead. That advantage lasted about as long as a paper napkin in a wind tunnel. Mike Trout walked in the bottom half, and Soler tied it with a two-run blast to left-center.
The second inning only raised the volume. Henry Bolte walked, stole second, and scored when Carlos Cortes ripped a liner to left that turned into extra trouble after Josh Lowe’s fielding error. But the Angels answered with Jo Adell’s solo homer and Lowe’s two-run shot, turning a 3-2 Athletics lead into a 5-3 hole. Aaron Civale, who entered with strong recent numbers and had allowed only three runs over his previous four starts, was tagged for three home runs and five runs through five innings.
From there, the game tightened. Shea Langeliers helped kill an Angels threat in the fourth when the Athletics successfully challenged a play at third, with Langeliers picking off Oswald Peraza on a throw to Zack Gelof. Luis Medina then gave the A’s a key bridge, working two scoreless innings and keeping the deficit manageable. That mattered because the Athletics’ offense, quiet from the third through sixth, found a spark in the seventh. Darell Hernaiz and Cortes were both hit by pitches, and Kurtz lined a two-out single to center that scored Hernaiz, though Cortes was thrown out trying for third.
Kurtz’s night also pushed his reaching-base streak from 42 games to 43, adding another line to a run that already had him near some big names in Athletics history. His walk in the first kept the streak alive, and his seventh-inning hit made it louder. McNeil then supplied the swing the A’s badly needed in the ninth, driving Kirby Yates’ pitch over the right-field wall to tie the game at 5-5. For a player who entered with just one homer and all of his RBI against right-handed pitching, it was perfect timing, the kind of swing that makes the bench feel ten degrees warmer.
Scott Barlow worked around a hit batter in the ninth, aided by another overturned call when Gelof and McNeil combined on a force at second. In the 10th, with Kurtz placed at second, Soderstrom delivered again. His fly-ball single to left scored Kurtz, and another error by Lowe pushed Soderstrom to third. The A’s could not add on, but Harris protected the 6-5 lead with a tightrope act. He struck out Lowe on a missed bunt, got Zach Neto to move the runner to third on a soft groundout, intentionally walked Trout, then walked Nolan Schanuel to load the bases. With Soler at the plate and the Angels one swing from flipping the ending, Harris got the grounder to McNeil, and the Athletics finally exhaled.
The series concludes Thursday with Luis Severino (2-5 / 4.45 ERA / 54 K) taking the mound for Sacramento against Anaheim’s Jose Soriano (6-3 / 2.41 ERA / 67 K). First pitch from the Big A scheduled for 6:38pm.
Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Sacramento A’s Zack Gelof slugs a seventh inning home run against the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium on Tue May 19, 2026 (photo by Mauricio Segura Golden Bay Times and today’s author)
By Mauricio Segura
The Sacramento Athletics needed a response after J.T. Ginn’s almost no-hitter Monday night that turned into a gut-punch loss, and they did not tap the Los Angeles Angels politely on the shoulder. They unloaded in a 14-6 win that felt like a full-team exhale after the kind of defeat that can linger if a club lets it.
Even with the loss pushing them under .500, the Athletics still held first place in the American League West, and their offense made sure the mood did not stay sour for long. A lineup that had been showing signs of life lately did more than wake up. It took over the room, ate the snacks, and left the Angels chasing line drives all over the yard.
For two innings, Reid Detmers looked like he might control the night. Shea Langeliers, Colby Thomas, Brent Rooker, Henry Bolte and Zack Gelof all went down on strikes early, and the Athletics had little to show until the third inning flipped the whole game on its head Jeff McNeil singled to center, Darell Hernaiz followed with a ground-ball single to right, and Nick Kurtz opened the scoring with a base hit that brought McNeil home.
That swing mattered beyond the run, too, because Kurtz entered the game riding one of the longest reaching-base streaks in Athletics history, a 41-game run that had him in rare company with names like Mark McGwire, Jimmie Foxx and Rickey Henderson.
Then the inning turned into a green-and-gold parade. Thomas doubled to right, scoring Hernaiz and Kurtz. Rooker singled in Thomas. Bolte, the young center fielder who recently made his Major League debut after tearing through Triple-A Las Vegas, bounced a ground-rule double down the left-field line.
Gelof followed with a two-run single, and just like that, a scoreless game had become a 6-0 Athletics lead. It was not just a rally. It was a reminder that this lineup can stretch an inning until the other team starts looking for the emergency exit.
The Angels did not disappear quietly. Mike Trout homered to center in the third, then Los Angeles pushed across three more in the fourth after Oswald Peraza singled, Jose Siri doubled, Zach Neto reached, and Trout drew a bases-loaded free pass after a confirmed challenge. Vaughn Grissom followed with a two-run single, cutting the Athletics’ lead to 6-4 and forcing manager Mark Kotsay to go to Justin Sterner. The Angels had turned the game tense, but Sterner ended the inning by getting Jorge Soler to fly out.
From there, the Athletics answered like a team tired of getting shoved around in May. In the sixth, Jonah Heim doubled and Hernaiz reached, setting the table for Langeliers and Kurtz. Langeliers drew the pass that loaded the bases, and Kurtz punched another two-run single to center, scoring Heim and Hernaiz for an 8-4 lead. Kurtz later stole second, just because apparently driving in runs was not enough work for one inning.
Gelof added a solo homer to right center in the seventh, pushing the lead to 9-4. In the eighth, the Athletics turned the game into a rout. McNeil singled, Langeliers reached again, and Kurtz ripped a two-run double to right, giving him five RBIs on the night. Rooker, who has done some of his best career damage against the Angels, followed with a two-run homer to left center. That blast made it 13-4 and continued his long history of punishing Los Angeles pitching.
The Angels scored twice in the eighth on Josh Lowe’s double after Nolan Schanuel was hit by a pitch and Logan O’Hoppe doubled, but Hogan Harris avoided further trouble by retiring Trout and Grissom. Hernaiz added one more Athletics run in the ninth with a single that scored Gelof, while Joel Kuhnel finished the game by striking out O’Hoppe after an error briefly extended the bottom of the ninth.
The final line told the story loudly enough: 14 runs, big swings from Kurtz, Thomas, Gelof and Rooker, and enough bullpen stability to keep the Angels from turning another lead into a headache. The Athletics did not just win. They answered.
Starting pitchers for Wednesday at the Big A: For Sacramento RHP Aaron Civale (5-1 ERA 2.70) for Los Angeles RHP Jack Kochanowicz (2-3 ERA 4.56) first pitch 6:38pm PDT.
Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check. 🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah. 🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
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